[UPDATE: A hacker also broke into the official website of the provincial government of Bulacan and left an angry message in Chinese.] 

A hacker has taken down the website of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), with the hacked frontpage now featuring a Chinese flag – an apparent reference to the anger of the Chinese and Hong Kong peoples over the violent end to the August 23 hostage-taking incident in Manila.

The hacker replaced the PIA website‘s homepage with a black background with the message: “Hacked by 7z1″ and the signature “Black Matrix Team | 0x.oday@Gmail.com”.

Here is a screenshot of the PIA website’s homepage as of press time:

 

The PIA is attached under the Office of the President, and is overseen by the Presidential Communications Operations Office, formerly called the Office of the Press Secretary.

Various government websites have been taken down or defaced by hackers since 2007, including that of the Department of Justice and the Philippine National Police: